Rumor Mill – September 18, 2015

Published September 18, 2015

The purpose of this section is to answer any questions parents, teachers or community members might have regarding the school district and to set the record straight in regards to any rumors that might be circulating.

If you have a question or have heard a rumor that you would like for us to address, simply SEND US your questions and we will respond to them in upcoming issues of InFocus. Below are some of the questions we have received since our last issue.

Class sizes seem to be very large at Chapman’s Retreat Elementary this year. Are there any plans to hire additional teachers and maybe bring in some portables to get class sizes down?

At the elementary level, we follow the State guidelines for class sizes and class size averages. Presently, Chapman’s Retreat is within the acceptable class sizes and class size averages.

I know the board policy says students are to have 20 minutes of supervised recess where they are supposed to be encouraged to engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity. Can you tell me why some teachers take this time away from students to complete work or for poor behavior? This seems contradictory to the policy.

While Williamson County Schools does not have an official policy regarding recess for grades K-5, there are guidelines for daily physical activity and daily recess as outlined below.

Guideline for Daily Physical Activity K-5

All students in grades K-5 shall receive daily physical activity for at least 150 minutes per week (this recommended time is inclusive of physical education and recess) for the entire school year.

Students in grades K-5 presently receive physical education classes two times a week for 45 minutes and recess each day for 20 minutes. That means we currently exceed the recommended 150 minutes minimum by 40 minutes.

Guideline for Daily Recess K-5

All elementary school students shall have at least 20 minutes of supervised recess every day, preferably outdoors, during which schools should encourage moderate to vigorous physical activity verbally and through the provision of space and equipment. Schools will discourage extended periods (i.e. periods of two or more hours) of inactivity. When activities, such as mandatory school-wide testing, make it necessary for students to remain indoors for long periods of time, schools will give students periodic breaks during which they are encouraged to stand and be moderately active.

Teachers should not use denial of recess for punitive reasons, behavior or otherwise, but occasionally, in efforts to help a student with missed assignments or to do quick make-up work, teachers are allowed to use up to 10 minutes of the 20 minutes of the recess time. At times, parents will request teachers to use part of their child’s recess time in an effort to allow make-up of missed assignments or assessments.

Additionally, as a general rule, during academic instructional blocks of time, teachers will structure “brain breaks” or “brain break activities” where students can be up moving and/or free to socialize either as part of the instruction or as a quick break from instruction.